Great Kills Park

A gorgeous park! I really enjoy walking from end to the other in any season. There is an array of wild life: deer, rabbits, geese, owls, loons, sea birds, ferrel cats. Stunning views, from beach to fields to woodland.
I wish they would complete their «cleanup» of the interior parks of the park so they could be further explored.

I had very peaceful and relaxing time with my family! The sunset was simply amazing. You can sit on the sand and watch it or be in the car in chilly day

I had some time to kill before a wedding in Staten Island and Great Kills Park seemed like a decent place to hang out.
There are beaches and a marina. You can see from Brooklyn to Sandy Hook and there is plenty on walkways to take a stroll.
Best of all, unlike Sandy Hook, this National Park area is free to enter.

Beautiful park on Staten Island. Its great to visit during the summer time. Lovely place to ride your bike, take a walk, swim and other activities. Great space and lots of parking spaces available.
Its such a peaceful and beautiful place.

Awesome park/​beach!
Park area/​drive into the park is very nice, peaceful, and clean. I’d love to bike down there on a nice breezy day.
The beach is a big enough stretch and quite clean! Wasn’t crowded at all when I went (weekday, around ⁴⁄₅)
It’s a bit far for me to get to (Brooklyn to SI) but I’d probably make a trip back there again for a little friends/​family getaway.

Beautiful park to just do about anything you want! Drive in or jog in. Run in or walk in… Parking all over. Different section to do just angry you got in mind. Picnics… Beaches… Sails. Relaxing or just playing ball! Maybe grab some sea food??! This is the place to be near great park for all ages!

A great marshland/​waterfront park in New Dorp, SI. Less than .5 mile from my family’s home, it is a cool place to run, walk, bike, blade, swim at a tiny beach and take in the views. New Jersey is close across the harbor. The running/​biking path has mile markers, the beach has a Lifeguard in summer, the playground is AoK, all kinds of «ball» courts, waterfowl and critters dashing about; while the Marina, docks and Boardwalks are relaxing havens. Some come out here to cast a fishing line, too.
Several people have mentioned the radiation signs, which are somewhat disconcerting. For these people, I have some advice: don’t climb over the fences and play in the «radiation warning» areas; find another park; could be worse, could be NJ. It’s a choice only individuals can make, kind of give the Park Service props for putting them up… because NJ’s «Welcome» sign should have one. Soooo,
The dunes are finally coming back after most of the Island was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Outstanding to see nature coming full circle; especially this little gem in the Gateway National Park System. Running and biking next to non man-​made bodies of water is not an option where I currently live, so I’m all over it as soon as I’m home.
As a person who thrives by the sea/​on a beach, and loving the outdoors, this will always top my «steps away get away» list on SI. Serenity is just a sunrise or sunset run away, while breathing the sea air with the sand under my feet.
Fangirl status

I am on a fence about this park. Literally. Those fences, «danger» signs and environmental reports are a bit scary. Radiation clean up is no joke.
But — it is rather safe in public areas, as my dear friend assured me, and I somewhat trust those findings.
Great Kills Park is beautiful.
There is a running trail from Hylan to the beach, with clear markers on miles.
There are several sandy beaches.
Nicely built marina with paved paths and picturesque docks.
And seagulls that are the size of the large dog. Not kidding.
It’s also the best place to sunset-​watch on the Island.
I do hope officials will hurry up and clean mess behind fenced areas. Soon.
*Dedicated to someone I will always keep in my heart, and to dear friends who always keep me safe*

So Great Kills may not be no Central Park, but doesn’t make me love it any less one of my favorite parks in Staten Island.
It’s a great local park perfect for a stroll, jogging, bike riding, or rollerblading. There is a beach, not one of the best beaches ever but nice if you want to lay out in the sun and don’t feel like heading to Jersey.
Now for my favorite part of Great Kills Park… the Marina, such a peaceful spot and the sunsets are gorgeous!
PS: Just a quick heads up for those driving in be careful not to go over the speed limit, there are often state police along the road watching for speedy drivers

I have mixed feelings about this place. Sometimes it’s picturesque and great to bike and walk. Other times it’s the most disgusting trashy beach I’ve ever seen or smelled. The fact that the water is brown and waves nonexistent is insignificant compared to all the trash this place contains at various times in the year. Tampons, condoms, broken glass.
Pesticides have been sprayed all along the Orange Trail which makes you feel like you are doing a tour of mankind’s destruction of nature. At least those are labelled properly… Read on!
While Googling information about this place, I stumbled on the fact that there are «hot spots» of Radium (radioactive material) inside the park.
Seriously. Google it. Right now.
The unlawful, immoral dumping was discovered in 2005. It is now July 2012 and guess what NO CLEAN UP has even been started. The EPA and government have basically done nothing except close the closest section of this park and they didn’t even do a good job of that: The worst thing about this is the lack of warnings. There are a «Do Not Enter or «Closed» sign here or there but no mention about the reason why. Surely, it would be more effective to state the reason why. Surely the public deserves to know. Just for instance, how many teenagers have wandered by and in the area unaware of the true, invisible danger? It’s not like it’s completely locked. People can get in. Any «unsafe conditions» signs are not clear enough. There should be large clear signs about the radiation clearly stating «DANGER: RADIOACTIVE HAZARDOUS AREA. RADIATION RISK» Something that would truly WARN the public.
PS The cops love handing out tickets to people «speeding» on the road toward the beach. If you do get pulled over, don’t consent to an unconstitutional search, cite your 4^th amendment right!

Ain’t much of a park, but if it weren’t for this, I’d have had no space to play games as a kid. GK Park hosted years of football games for me as a kid.

We went there on a gorgeous late October Saturday and practically had it all to ourselves, with the exception of a few fishermen in the distance. It was pleasant and peaceful to walk along the beach, accompanied only by a group of seagulls.

Great for spring and summer days, there’s little trails that take you on a short stroll through wooded areas. Tennis courts, basketball?, and handball too. Lots of teams go here, usually soccer and baseball, but of the younger kids variety and are pretty contained. The park has SWANS, ducks, rabbits and squirrels. The bathrooms aren’t the best-​but hey, they’re there. Always saw an ice-​cream truck in the summer… oh and no syringes on the beach YESSSSS.

Great Kills park. so sweet, as you walk threw the park in July you might be tempted to pick the berries off the trees, go for it there yummy and FREE (but you’ll need new sneakers after that. This park is magnificent, I’m impressed for a Brooklyn chic. Come and just relax on the beach or take in the view of a few die hard bklyn Ginnie’s who still have their hair slicked back tight, skippy sneakers and denim shorts, playing cards at the picnic tables, wear lots of sun block, you don’t want your skin looking like theirs. oh and just ignore the whistles and macho remarks… ya gotta love it. I sat by the boat/​dock side many times (bring a chair) (pic of me in silhouette just watching the boats and fishermen enjoying life. If your lucky on Sundays there are a few hobbies that people take to the park, like a bunch of antique car collectors, hobby airplanes, helicopters (men love their toys), kite playing, bike riding, soccer, etc. Walk, bike ride, roller-​blade or run with the wind, its a great place to exercise and take in the view. I have been here many times and each time I wonder why my day doesn’t start off like this. I highly recommend if your on S.I. to get over to this park, stop and smell the ummm… dump I mean roses ! *wink*

Serenity now! Thank God for this! Great Kills Park is part of Gateway National Recreation Area and has a swimming beach with life guards, off-​shore fishing, marina, jogging and walking trails and a playground. The best aspect of Great Kills Park, is that there are nooks and crannies to be found, where you are alone on your own beach.